Far-Out Guide to Neptune

* Reviews *

Nebulous Neptune—the brilliant blue ball of gases farthest from the Sun—is one of the planets explored in this Far-Out Guide to the Solar System series, offering a multitude of facts to report-writers, focusing on what scientists know and the many perplexing questions still to be answered. Young researchers will learn that Neptune (named for the Roman god of the sea) was spotted in 1846 by a team of astronomers using math to calculate its orbit. In 1989, after traveling twelve years, space probe Voyager 2 flew past Neptune, studying the planets weather (turbulent), temperatures (warmer than expected), and finding six new moons. In one of the boxed Far-Out Facts scattered through the text, readers discover that a giant storm called the Great Dark Spot (seen in 1989) has disappeared. Three pages of Fast Facts add more information; for example, Neptunes largest moon, Triton, is bigger than Pluto and nearly as big as Earths moon. A Neptune Timeline of Exploration and Discovery introduces a section about further discoveries by Voyager 2; for example, icy Triton orbits around Neptune in an opposite direction and has volcanoes erupting frozen lava, while Keck telescopes in Hawaii have photographed Neptunes uneven, fading rings. Scientists speculate about Tritons origins (did it once circle the Sun?) and whether it will eventually destroy itself. Whats next for Neptune? New discoveries will come from advanced telescopes on Earth and a possible Argo mission in 2019, though it would take a decade to reach Neptune. Illustrations are photos (color when possible) and computer-generated paintings—one shows what a mission to Neptune and Triton might look like. Included are a helpful glossary and a list of books and websites about Neptune explorations, the solar system, and planet-watching., Children's Literature